I have decided to go all out with my 2003 cavalier on a big build, but the only down side is that I have not heard to much about the transmission so if anyone know of a swap to do or major upgrades that will help.
the first one is kinda helpful, but the second one is less ignorant, transmissions aren't rated for HP, HP is what makes top speed, torque is how strong the engine twists the drive shafts and moving parts of the transmission and what will ultimately break it. here's the deal with the getrag F23, for whatever reasons, getrag rates the f23 is conservatively and conveniently rated for the torque rating of the 2.4 ecotec. But that rating is for a vehicle with a GVWR of 4094 , our vehicles are only 3800lbs wet. Given both of these facts and the fact that many people have turboed and nos'ed the crap out of these cars with few problems. for reference, the f35 from the RL is rated for the stage 2 kit level, but the stage three exceeds this number with not even a warranty issue. Just for cheap insurance, I've changed my fluid to royal purple ATF for less heat, thus less wear and less likely to fail. Also note that to keep under the torque rating you would be restricted to a K&N filter or synthetic oil or a muffler. these ratings come from getrag themselves, I wanted accurate manufacturers numbers so I e-mailed them.
ok listen the swap is a bad idea the fuids good though but i want to build something like a dog box if you are familier with dragracing and for last the ratings where are you going with that. if i was scared to break my car i wouldn't be racing i would be ricing ok so lets find some real info
as far as I know the only two manual transmissions are the getrag F23 and the F35 from a RL or SS/SC, and both are WAAAAYYYYY underrated. You can't get real ratings because the transmission companies seem to rate them for the vehicle they go in and not for their mechanical limits, that's where I'm going with the ratings. these transmissions easily seem to handle twice the rating and even handle drag racing quite handily, but swaping to the F35 gives you equal length drive shafts, so no torque steer for drag racing and it also comes optional with a Quaiffe LSD ( you can also add this yourself) and stouter gear ratios. there is no way to really build up these transmissions and there are race only transmissions out there if you look made by GM. good luck.
did a google search for reliability on the getrag f23 after I lost my 2nd gear synchro. They do have problems with the synchros from 1st to 2nd and from 3rd to 4th. So if you plan on cutting 13's at the track i would look at the possibilities of beefing up the getrag.
